Community and Clientele in Twelfth-Century Tuscany : The Origins of the Rural Commune in the Plain of Lucca

Chris Wickham

ISBN 10: 0198207042 / ISBN 13: 9780198207047

Published by Oxford University Press Nov 1998, 1998

About this Item

Neuware - This book investigates a gap in Italian historiography by examining rural rather than city communes. Wickham's discussion of a group of villages around Lucca is the first detailed study of the origin of organized village communities in Italy to appear in over 70 years. It shows how the 12th-century social and political structures of the countryside ran alongside those of the city.

Seller Inventory # 9780198207047

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Community and Clientele in Twelfth-Century Tuscany : The Origins of the Rural Commune in the Plain of Lucca
• Publisher: Oxford University Press Nov 1998
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198207042
• ISBN 13: 9780198207047
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 223W x 145H x 21D millimeters 223 millimeters width by 145 millimeters height by 21 millimeters depth
• Weight: 476 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This book addresses a gap in Italian historiography by examining rural rather than city communes. In recent years, historians have increasingly focused on local and regional studies of village communities as a way of understanding medieval European history. This discussion of a group of villages around Lucca is the first detailed study of the origin of organized village communities in Italy for over seventy years, showing how the social and political structures of the countryside ran alongside those of the city. Chris Wickham analyses how local politics took recognizable shape as its ruling structures gradually emerged over time. His argument does not end there, and indeed extends beyond Italy, to France and Spain, providing sustained comparisons of rural development and social organization. The result is a rare combination of systematic local analysis and wide synthesis, aimed at illuminating the whole area of social transformation in twelfth-century Europe.

About the Author

Chris Wickham is the Editor of Past & Present.